Folding toilet with flush valve and controlling linkage therefor



y 1957 A. COLONNA 2,799,864

FOLDING TOILET WITH FLUSH VALVE AND CQNTROLLING LINKAGE THEREFOR FiledJan. 19, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig./

Ange/o Cola/ma IN VEN TOR.

BY /QM A. COLONNA July 23, 1957 FOLDING TOILET WITH FLUSH VALVE ANDCONTROLLING LINKAGE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 19, 1956 '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m w M0m O A n5, 0 V m E a 1% 0 M. QM n Y A B A. COLONNA July 23, 1957 FOLDINGTOILET WITH FLUSH VALVE AND CQNTROLLING LINKAGE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 19,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ange/q Colonna INVENTOR. gfiwfim A. COLONNA July23, 1957 FOLDING TOILET WITH FLUSH VALVE AND CONTROLLING LINKAGETHEREFOR Filed Jan. 19, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 m. M n

m a C 0 wfim I l l l I l l l 1K United States FULDING TUELET WITH FLUSHVALVE AND CQNTROLLlNG LINKAGE THEREFOR Angelo Colonna, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application January 19, 1956, Serial No. 566,198

Claims. (Ci. 4-10) The present invention relates to certain new anduseful improvements in a fold-away toilet, that is, a construction whichis characterized by a toilet bowl which is adapted to assume ahorizontal position when in use and which is swung up to a verticalout-of-the-way position into an appropriate compartment in a cabinetwhen not in use, said bowl having a flush rim with jet distributingorifices communicating with the receptacle portion of the bowl andhaving a fecal matter emptying or discharge neck, the neck beinghingedly mounted for operation in bearing means provided on a fitting,the fitting being communicatively mounted atop a stationary wastedisposal trap-equipped conduit. Folding water closets of the abovementioned type are not new. For example reference may be had to PatentNo. 2,725,575 covering a folding water closet granted to me on December6, 1955. There are other structurally similar and functioningadaptations; namely, the built-in fold-away water closet identified asPatent 2,750,599, dated June 19, 1956, and the folding water closet alsofiled by me on December 10, 1954 and identified as Serial No. 474,370.All of these are characterized, broadly construed, by means functioningin the manner set forth above. It is the consensus of opinion that it ishighly unsatisfactory in this category of inventions to use a bowl whichis dry. In these circumstances it is therefore conventional to ensurethat the receptacle portion of the bowl be wet and this result isattained in a number of different ways as for example in the previouslymentioned prior patents and the copending application referred to above.For instance, in Patent 2,750,599 the rear portion of the flush waterrim is imperforate and serves to hold a limited amount of flush waterwhen the bowl is up, this in a manner so that when the bowl is againswung down for use to occupy its usuable horizontal position, the waterwhich has been previously trapped is then gravity-spilled from the rimthrough ports in the rim and is allowed to flow and pool itself in thebottom of the bowl, means being provided for delivering flush waterunder pressure to the flush water rim, and there being at least onereservoir which is communicatively connected with the flush rim and inwhich a limited quantity of flush water is temporarily trapped andcollected when the bowl is down and flushed and which retains the thuscollected water when the bowl is raised to its up position but emptiesitself in the flush rim when the bowl is next swung down for use. InSerial No. 474,370 a different arrangement is provided and this has todo with a novel reservoir which is directly connected with the flushvalve by way of a vacuum breaker and which has the flushing water andreservoir water hose connected therewith by suitable connections. Thestated 2,799,864- Patented July 23, 1957 ice 5 facturing advantages,ecomonies, efficiency of use and achievements mutually beneficial to themanufacturer, retailer, purchaser and user the water supply and flushingfacilities are herein redesigned, so to speak, making it possible to usea self-closing valve to provide a pool of water in the bottom of thetoilet bowl when this is lowered for use and using the same valve whenflushing of the toilet is required.

Briefly summarized, novelty is therefore predicated on a combinationwhich is characterized by a stationary waste disposal conduit, afold-away toilet bowl having a complemental flushing rim and fluid andfecal matter funneling and emptying means hingedly and communicativelymounted on said disposal conduit, a manually operable self-closing flushvalve, a flush water supply and delivery conduit operatively connectingsaid valve with said flushing rim, and means whereby a pool ofbowl-wetting water is automatically delivered into said bowl directlyfrom said valve and by way of said delivery conduit when said bowl isswung out from a vertical out-of-use position to a down horizontalin-use position, said means being momentarily in action and havingmechanical operating connection with the above named bowl.

More specifically, novelty has to do with the construction stated andwherein the means mentioned utilizes an oscillatory crank arm and acomplemental liftable and lowerable rigid link or bar which is pivotallyconnected at its lower end to the crank arm and has its upper endportion cooperable with the plunger or button on the stated valve, saidupper end portion having sliding contact with the button and abutmentmeans being mounted for operation adjacent to but spaced from thebutton, the upper end portion of the bar being reciprocable in the spaceintervening between the button and the abutment and having at least onecam. This cam has riding contact with the abutment and it is of a lengthso that its operation is properly timed and so that it will cause saidupper end portion to momentarily depress and operate the buttonallowinga small amount of water to be squirted or delivered from the valve intothe hose or other conduit and then conducted into the flush rim of thebowl.

A further improvement pertains to the utilization of a pivotally mountedaccessible lever for operating the push button of the stated flushvalve. The lever handle accessibly arranged in front of the cabinet ispulled and causes a thrust finger on the pivoted end of the lever topress against the aforementioned bar which, in turn, de

reservoir traps a limited supply and has a valve and a presses theself-closing valve plunger, releasing the water necessary to flush thetoilet. Then, too, novelty is predicated on the structural means usedand wherein when the toilet bowl is lifted and folded away into astorage compartment in the cabinet, a keeper pin on they bar slips intoa keeper seat or notch provided therefor in a special bracket and locksthe bar against pivotal movement so that the lever isin turn locked andso that the toilet cannot be accidentally flushed when it is in itsstored away position.

Features and advantages in addition to those specifically mentionedabove will become self-evident from the following detailed description,illustrative drawings, and the subjoined claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary front view with portions broken away'and otherportions appearing in phantom lines and wherein the folding toilet bowlis in its up and out-of-the-way or stored position;

' Figure 2 is a view with parts in section and elevation taken on thevertical line 2 -2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;Figure 3 is a fragmentary view with parts enlarged an appearingessentially in elevation showing the control lever, push button of theflush valve and intervening parts in what may be said to be their normalpositions, that is, when the bowl is up and the handle of the lever islocked against operation;

Figure 4 is a view which may be said to be similar to Figure 3 and whichshows the position of the upper por tion of the liftable and lowerablebar tilted or swung to the left and momentarily and partially depressingthe button of the flush valve for purposes of delivering pooling waterinto the bowl when the latter is on the way down;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4- wi th parts in section andelevation and showing the return istroke of the aforementioned bar andhow the cams thereon serveto lift and push the abutment pin up and towhat may be called an out-of-the-way position in a manner to bedescribed; Figure 6 is a view which ties in with Figures 3, 4 and 5 andwhich shows the position and relationship of the parts with the bowldown (not shown) and with ther control lever swung out and down in amanner to operate the flush valve; 7

Figure 7 is a view which may besaid to be, observing Figure 8 in adirection from left to right but with the lifting and lowering baromitted;

Figure 8 is a section on the irregular line 8+8 of Figure 3, looking inthe direction of the arrows; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the aforementioned liftable andlowerable bar which cooperates V with and operates the push button orplunger of the flush valve.

With reference now to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thenumeral 16 designates the aforementioned cabinet and insofar as theinstant invention, patentably speaking is concerned, the cabinet may beof any appropriate construction to include a compartment for thevertically swingable hingedly mounted fold-away part 12 which is herereferred to, generally speaking, as a'fold away bowl. More specifically,the bowl or pan is denoted in Fig. 2 by the numeral 14 and includes areceptacle portion having a fecal matter disposal neck 16 and a suitablyperforated flush ringor rim 1%. The seat. is denoted by the numeral 20.qThe'details of construction are sim ilar to those seen in cope ndingSerial No. 474,370 and not being patentably important here are notspecifically described. The disposal conduit, including an S-strap isdenoted at 22 and is'of a suitable construction and there is a'hollowfitting 24 mounted atop the same and in com-' munication'therewith andprovided'with suitable bearings (not detailed) in which the hingingmeans (not detailed) of the vfold-away toilet bowl is mounted foroscillation permitting the bowl to swing up and down. The hinging meansincludes a hollow water intake pipe or shaft 26 to which a flexible hoseor equivalent conduit 28 is com-- municably connected at 30 (Fig. 1). Onthe outer end of this hollow shaft there is a rocker arm or crank arm 32which obviously'swings or moves up and down in unison with the bowl. Therocker arm has its outer end bifurcated and the furcations straddle andare pivotally con nected as at 34 with the lower end portion 36 of aliftable and lowerable part here referred to as a bar 38. The bar ispreferably fashioned from sheet metal stamped out to the constructionshown in Fig. 9 with the upper portion channel-shapedin cross sectionand including a web 40 and a pair of spaced parallel flanges 42 havingprojecting portions 44 which function as cams in a manner to bedescribed. The'upper ends of these cams are denoted and distinguished bythe numerals 46. Below the cams there is apin or rod member 48 and thisspans the space between the flanges and has its projecting end portionscon stituting keeper pins 50; These'keeper pins are adapted to beremovably seated in keeper notches or keeper seats 52'formed in theflanges 54 of a bracket 56 having its front wall 60 of the cabinet. Asseen in Fig. 8 the flanges 42 slide up and down between the flanges 54of the bracket 56; At this time attention is directed to theaforementioned valve fluslru'ng or control lever and this is denoted bythe numeral 62 and has a portion operating through -a slot 64 providedtherefor and a curvate portion extending to the right and beyond theslot as shown in Fig. 5 which functions as a valve flushing handle 66.The intermediate portions 68 of the lever is secured by a setscrew orthe like 70 to a pin 72 journaled for oscillation in bearings providedtherefor in the flanges 54. The lower end portion of the lever isfashioned into a rigid thrust finger 74, which cooperates with the web44) of the liftable and lowerable bar 38.

The same flanges 54 are provided with opposed register- 7 ing slots thelower portions of which are denoted at 76 in Fig. 5. These serve asseats for an abutment pin '73 sometimes referred to as a roller becauseof the fact that it has end flanges or heads 80 on the ends thereof andbecause it also may turn freely as a sort of an anti-friction rollerwhen in the seats 76 as shown, for example, in

' Figs. 3, 4 and 6. The upper laterally directed portions 82 of theslots are there for the purpose of permitting the pin to be thrust toone side to pave the way for the return movement of the rod 38 as willbe hereinafter described. The numeral 84 designates 'a' shoulder formingpin and the numeral 86a stop lug forming a part of the valve flushinglever 62 and cooperable with said shoulder 84 all as clear from Fig. 5.

With reference now to Fig.2 the self-closing manually openable flushvalve is denoted generally 'by the numeral 88 and is of any appropriateconstruction so that it in cludes a plungerterminating in a push button90. The valve is communicably connected with a vacuum breaker 92 of aconventional form to which the upper end of the flexible conduit or hose28 is communicably connected.

It will be clear from the drawings that when the bar 38 is in its fullyup position as shown in Fig. 3 the keeper pins are then seated in thekeeper notches or seats 52 and since this bar is interposed between thepush button 9 0 of the'valve and the thrust finger 74 of the controllever 62 the control lever is mechanically locked and consequently theflush valve 88 cannot be opened. This is the position of the parts whenthe bowl is stored away in its up or out-of-use position, for example,as shown in Fig. 1. Consequently, the bowl cannot he accidentallyflushed.. Or, to put it otherwise, the bowl has to be in the downposition shown in Fig. 2 before the valve can be flushed and obviouslyas the bowl is swung down and assumes its horizontal position the crankor rocker arm 32 takes the position seen in this figure and exertsdownward pull on the bar 38 and'hence the keeper pins 50 are releasedfrom the keeper seats 52' and the handle of the control lever 62 may begrasped and yanked down with the result that the thrust finger 74 willengage the web .40 and push the web over against the valve button anddepress the valve button in the manner shown in Figs. 2 and 6respectively.

/ Assuming that the handle 66 is locked as shown in Fig. 3 it will beevident that if the user swings the bowl out and down from its cabinetcompartment the crank arm 32 will begin to pull down on the bar 38 andwill cause the cams 44 to ride down'against the seated abutment pin orroller 78 as shown in Fig. 4. This will cause link or crank 32 lowersthe bar and cam combination 38 and the cam engages the travelling pin orabutment 78. This forces the bar and cam combination against the selfclosing valve plunger which is then depressed to release a small amountof water in order to provide a water pool in the bottom of the toiletbowl. However, when the cam has fully passed the travelling pin, the barand cam combination returns to its original position, and the toilet isready for use as shown in solid outline in Figure 2. At the same time,the abutment pin 78 is carried to one side in the slot-ends 82 leavingthe lever handle free to operate.

To flush the toilet, the lever handle is pulled, rotating on the pivotpin 72 causing the finger 74 of the lever handle to press against thebar which in turn depresses the self-closing valve plunger.

When the toilet bowl is raised and folded away in its housing, thedriving link or crank 32 drives the bar and cam combination 38 up andthe cam means 44 pushes the travelling pin 78 away preventing anypressure against the self-closing valve plunger. The keepers 56 seat inthe keeper notches 52 of the support bracket 56 to prevent flushing thetoilet while it is in a closed position.

There are three objectives, as before stated. First, when the toiletbowl is lowered, the bar means 38 is activated and this in turndepresses the plunger of the selfclosing valve which releases a smallamount of water to provide a water pool at the bottom of the toiletbowl.

Second, after the use of the toilet, when flushing is required, thelever handle 66 in front of the cabinet is pulled which causes thethrust finger 74 of the lever handle to press against the bar and camcombination which in turn depresses the self-closing valve plunger,releasing the water necessary to flush the toilet.

Third, when the toilet bowl is lifted and folded away into its cabinet,a pin in the bar and cam combination engages in the lever handle supportbracket and thus locks the lever handle to prevent flushing.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A folding toilet comprising, in combination, a stationary wastedisposal conduit, a fold-away toilet bowl having a flushing rim andfluid and fecal matter funneling and emptying means hingedly andcommunicatively mounted on said disposal conduit, a self-closing valve,a water delivery conduit operatively connecting said valve with saidflushing rim, and means whereby a limited pool of bowl-wetting water isautomatically delivered into said bowl directly from said valve and byway of said delivery conduit during the interval that said bowl is swungfrom an up vertical out-of-use position to a down horizontal in-useposition, said means having mechanical operating connection with theabove named bowl and embodying an oscillatory crank arm operated bymovement of the bowl and a complemental liftable and lowerable barpivotally connected at its lower end to said crank arm and having itsupper end portion cooperable with said valve, said valve having a pushbutton and said upper end portion having sliding and operating contactwith said button just before the bowl reaches its down position andbeing out of operating relation with said button during the movement ofthe bowl from its down to its up position.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, and in combination abutment meansmounted for operation adjacent to but spaced from the button, said upperend portion of said bar being reciprocable in the space interveningbetween said button and abutment and having at least one cam which, whenriding downwardly against the abutment causes said upper end portion tomove toward and depress and operate said button, whereby said valve isopened to allow a small amount of water to flow there from into saidconduit.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 and wherein said abutment isjournalled for rotation, as well as sliding, in slots, each of saidslots having a portion inclined upwardly and away from said button; sothat said bar, on its upward return stroke causes said cam to engage,lift and force said abutment out of the path of movement of said bar,whereby the said button is not acted on during this cycle of operation.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, and wherein said upper end portionis provided with locking means including a keeper pin, and a keeper seatseparate from said portion in which said keeper pin is seated, that is,during such time that the bowl is in its up folded-away position, apivotally mounted manually actuable lever having a handle and anoperating finger, the latter having cooperating contact with the upperend portion of said bar.

5. A folding toilet comprising, in combination, a stationary wastedisposal conduit, a fold-away toilet bowl having a complemental flushingrim and fluid and fecal matter funneling and emptying means hingedly andcommunicatively mounted on said disposal conduit, a manually openableself-closing normally closed flush valve, a fiush water supply anddelivery conduit operatively connecting said valve with said flushingrim, said valve having a depressible push button, a valve flushing leverpivotally mounted adjacent to said button and embodying a handle and arigid presser finger, means embodying a crank arm carried by andoperated by movement of the bowl, a liftable and lowerable verticallydisposed bar having its lower end pivotally connected to said crank armand its upper end portion slidably and swingably mounted in an existingspace between said push button and the free end of said finger, saidupper end portion having a keeper pin, and fixed bracket means having akeeper seat into which said keeper pin is slipped and held to preventsaid upper end portion from being operatively pressed by accidentaloperation of said handle against said button.

6. A folding toilet comprising, in combination, a stationary wastedisposal conduit, a fold-away toilet bowl having a complemental flushingrim and fiuid and fecal matter funneling and emptying means hingedly andcommunicatively mounted on said disposal conduit, a manually openableself-closing flush valve, a flush water supply and delivery conduitoperatively connecting said valve with said flushing rim, said valvehaving a push button, a valve flushing lever pivotally mounted adjacentto said button and embodying a handle and a rigid presser finger, meansembodying a crank arm operated by movement of the bowl, a liftable andlowerable vertically disposed bar having its lower end pivotallyconnected to said crank arm and its upper end portion slidably andswingably mounted in an existing space between said push button and thefree end of said finger, said upper end portion having a keeper pin, andfixed bracket means having opposed keeper seats into which end portionsof said keeper pin are temporarily seated to prevent the upper portionfrom being pressed forcibly against said button, said bracket havingspaced parallel flanges provided with slots, an anti-friction pin havingend portions slidable and rotatable in said slots, the upper portion ofsaid bar having outstanding projections constituting cams and said camsbeing slidably engageable with said pin.

7. A folding toilet comprising, in combination, a stationary wastedisposal conduit embodying a trap and an attending and communicatingfitting carried by and connected with the upper portion of said trap,said fitting having bearing means, a bowl adapted to assume a horizontalposition when in use and which is swung up to a vertical out-of-the-wayposition when not in use, said *7 bowl having a flush rim providedwithjet distributing openings communicating with the. receptacle portion ofthe bowl andfsaid bowl also having. a'fecal matter emptyto said: crankand having'its upper end in sliding contact with said button, a bracket.fixedly mounted and provided with flanges having slots, an abutment pinmounted for operation in said slots, the upperportion of said bar beingbetween said button and saidpin and havingcams and said cams havingoperating contact with said-abutment pin. 7

, 8. The structure defined in claim 7 and wherein said flanges on saidbracket have keeper notches therein, the upper portion of said barhaving keeper pins releasably engageable in said keeper notches, apivotally mounted control lever having a handle and a thrust finger,said thrust finger being engageable with the upper portion of said barto depress said button.

9. A folding toilet comprising, in combination, a stationary wastedisposal conduit embodying a trap and an attending and communicatingfitting carried by and con: nected with the upper portion of said trap,said fitting having bearing means, a bowl adapted to assume a horizontalposition when in use and which is swung up to a vertical out-of-the-wayposition when not in use, said bowl having a flush rim provided with jetdistributing openings communicating with the receptacle portion of thebowl and said bowl also having a fecal'matter emptying neck, meansintegral with said neck and hingedly mounted for operation in thebearing means on said fitting and said means including a horizontalhollow shaft which istcoaxialt with the axis about which/thehingerotates, the hollow portion of said shaft providing a pasev sageand serving to conduct flushingwater. to said bowl by' way of a suitableconnection between the bowl and hollow shaft,'said hollow shaft beingprovided at one end with a crank fixedly connected thereto, aself-closing flush valve includinga plunger witha push button, a bracketfixedly mounted in a position in generaltalignment with but spaced fromthe operating, tip of said button, said bracket having spaced flangesand the lower end portions of the flanges being providedwith opposedkeeper seats, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends and situatedbetween the flanges and above said keeper seats, one portion' of thelever constituting a handle and the other portion thereof being providedwith a presser finger, a vertically liftable and lowerable bar pivotallyand operatively connected at its lowerend to said crank and having itsupper end portion channel-shaped and operating -slid- V ingly betweenthe flanges of the bracket and having a web portion in cooperatingcontact with saidbutton, said finger being operatively cooperable withsaid Web, and keeper pins fixedly mounted on said upper portion of thebar and aligned with and movable into said keeper seats when-the bar islocked in a manner to prevent said handle from being accidentallyoperated. 7

10. The structure defined in claim 9 and wherein the flanges of saidbracket are provided with oppositely disposed elongated slots situatedabove the keeper seats and below therpivot point of said lever, theupper end portions of each of said slots sliding in a direction awayfrom said button, an abutment pin mounted for free rotation and slidingin said slots, that portion of the bar which is operatively movablebetween, the button and abutment pin having cams of limited lengthoperatively, cooperating with said abutment pin. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS819,562 Lazear May i, 1906

